False labor

The difference between false labour and real labour? After a point, false labor does not progress and then
eventually stops

Fertilisation

Penetration of the egg by the sperm and the beginning of life for your baby.

Fertility awareness

Fertility awareness can help you become more familiar with your own body, and help enhance feelings of
control over your health care related to the conception and gestation of your baby.

Fetal alcohol syndrome

Also known as FAS, this a disorder is characterised by growth retardation, facial abnormalities, and central
nervous system dysfunction (CNS). FAS is caused by a woman's use of alcohol during pregnancy.

Fetal distress

Fetus

The name given to the unborn baby from the eighth week after conception to the moment of birth.

Follicle

This fluid-filled sac in the ovary sustains the developing egg. It's from here that the egg is released during
ovulation. Each month, the follicle is stimulated to release the ovum by a hormone called FSH (Follicle Stimulating
Hormone), which is made by the pituitary gland.

Fontanelle

The two 'soft spots' between the cranial plates on a baby's head. They are gaps in the skull where bones have
not yet fused. As your baby grows, these gaps close over.

Forceps

Large tongs which are occasionally used to help assist the delivery of a baby.

Fraternal twin

Fraternal twins/triplets are created when two or more separate eggs released during the same ovulation cycle
are fertilised by two separate sperm. The babies will not be any more identical than normal siblings, and boy/girl
combinations are possible. This type of twinning is more likely to occur where there is a maternal family history of
fraternal multiples.

Fundus

The top of the uterus. At 12 weeks of pregnancy, the fundus is at the top of the pubic bone (symphysis pubis). At
approximately 20 weeks, the fundus has reached your belly button (umbilicus). After the 20th week, fundal height
(measured from above the pubic bone) is equal to the number of weeks of gestation. (For example, at 25 weeks,
the fundus will be about 25cm above the pubic bone.)